Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were (Neil Young)

To my surprise I've turned into a bit of a Richard Branson fan.

Richard's blog often turns up some unexpected treats and his 2014 book The Virgin Way is my latest purchase from that sale table outside Poppies bookstore in Havelock North.

It's come as a bit of a shock after the exuberant prose of Haruki Murikami.

Richard may be a genius entrepreneur and a source of motivation to millions but his writing style is a throwback to an earlier age. I mean who calls their book 'The Virgin Way'? 

Seven years older than me means I have heard many of the same expressions he uses from my own parents. Richard relates them in a plain style (fob people off; astute advice, not to be outdone...I opened the book at random three times and those were the first words I found).

I don't mean that as a criticism. It's kinda refreshing. Lately, I've been reading a lot of material from medium.com and vox.com which has a very (post) modern style. Richard doesn't kowtow to trends. Nor does he like mission statements - a man after my own heart!

Subtitled 'How to Listen, Learn, Laugh and Lead', the book delivers what it says on the tin. 

Here's a bit to chew on until we meet again:

I remember asking my father about the RAF motto of 'Per Ardua ad Astra'. When dad told me that it meant, 'Through Adversity to the Stars', my impressionable young brain seized on to it as the most inspirational thing I'd ever heard. There was something incredibly compelling about the notion of battling one's way to the stars no matter how difficult the challenge.

Love and peace - Wozza